I Really need guidence, opinions or experiences about this -Same Sex Sponsorship

[mommo]

Hi Everybody
I was wondering if Canada recognizes the same sex marriage which is done in Iceland and is it necessary to be a permanent resident in Iceland to get married?

I have done an online search and

- I couldn't find any information about Canada recognizes Iceland(norway and sweeden are ok)
-I couldn't find any clue about we should stay in Iceland for a certain amount of time.

Thanks in advance to all and best of luck.

 

[agga]

Hello mommo,

I think I read that all you need is the marriage to be valid both under the law of the country where you got married and in Canada (here, concerning more particularly age and monogamy).

I'm pretty sure Iceland allows you to get married without being a resident, since I have heard of many destination weddings being celebrated there.

So if you're both over 18 - or 19 if you're going to BC - and are not currently married to anyone else, I guess there's no reason to worry there.

Just to be sure, you could give CIC a call...

Cheers & good luck!

 

[agga]

Look, I found this: http://www.marryabroad.co.uk/how-to-marry-in-iceland.shtml

No residence required, just send the paperwork in upfront.

 

[mommo]

Yes, thank you very much, but it seems I must be staying there

the article says in "What legal papers do I need to take with me?" part

Confirmation from the Directorate of Immigration that you are legally residing or staying in Iceland.

 

[ddobro2]

As far as the initial question, Iceland has had same-sex marriage legal since the summer of 2010. For some reason, CIC's hasn't updated its list of countries outside of Canada in which a same-sex spouse and applicant for PR may have married in order to be eligible to apply through the spousal Family Class category. Right now, their page on that reads:

If you were married outside Canada, you may apply to sponsor your same-sex partner as a spouse as long as the marriage is legally recognized according to both the law of the place where the marriage occurred and under Canadian law. This applies to same-sex marriages performed in the following jurisdictions:
•Belgium
•the Netherlands
•Norway
•South Africa
•Spain
•Sweden
•the State of California (June 16, 2008 – November 5, 2008)
•the State of Massachusetts
•the State of New Hampshire
•the State of Connecticut
•the State of Iowa
•the State of Vermont (effective September 1, 2009)

But no matter, because as the first part says, your marriage is valid as long as both Canada and the country in which you were married recognize same-sex marriage, which they do.

I checked out that other not-terribly-comprehensive link agga found and it does say that you have to give a sworm statement to an Icelandic notary at least 4 weeks before the ceremony and to file paperword at least 2 weeks before, so you may be looking at an extended stay in Iceland, unless you're able to come and go easily. I really think it would be best to contact the Directorate of Immigration by phone or email to get the best answer about how to proceed. But I believe they would not even require you to get any kind of permit to stay in the country in order to get married if you were a citizen of a country that is member to the European Economic Area or the European Free Trade Association.

Yes, thank you very much, but it seems I must be staying there

the article says in "What legal papers do I need to take with me?" part

Confirmation from the Directorate of Immigration that you are legally residing or staying in Iceland.

 

[cantor2537]

As far as the initial question, Iceland has had same-sex marriage legal since the summer of 2010. For some reason, CIC's hasn't updated its list of countries outside of Canada in which a same-sex spouse and applicant for PR may have married in order to be eligible to apply through the spousal Family Class category. Right now, their page on that reads:

If you were married outside Canada, you may apply to sponsor your same-sex partner as a spouse as long as the marriage is legally recognized according to both the law of the place where the marriage occurred and under Canadian law. This applies to same-sex marriages performed in the following jurisdictions:
•Belgium
•the Netherlands
•Norway
•South Africa
•Spain
•Sweden
•the State of California (June 16, 2008 – November 5, 2008)
•the State of Massachusetts
•the State of New Hampshire
•the State of Connecticut
•the State of Iowa
•the State of Vermont (effective September 1, 2009)

But no matter, because as the first part says, your marriage is valid as long as both Canada and the country in which you were married recognize same-sex marriage, which they do.

I checked out that other not-terribly-comprehensive link agga found and it does say that you have to give a sworm statement to an Icelandic notary at least 4 weeks before the ceremony and to file paperword at least 2 weeks before, so you may be looking at an extended stay in Iceland, unless you're able to come and go easily. I really think it would be best to contact the Directorate of Immigration by phone or email to get the best answer about how to proceed. But I believe they would not even require you to get any kind of permit to stay in the country in order to get married if you were a citizen of a country that is member to the European Economic Area or the European Free Trade Association.

SSM is legal in NY state now too, so I am guessing they haven't really updated that page.

 

[ddobro2]

Exactly. Along with D.C. in the U.S. and Argentina and Portugal. I'm sure they didn't have time to update it because they're working super hard on our files........ :-X

SSM is legal in NY state now too, so I am guessing they haven't really updated that page.

 

[Huron]

Exactly. Along with D.C. in the U.S. and Argentina and Portugal. I'm sure they didn't have time to update it because they're working super hard on our files........ :-X

And don't forget Mexico City....... but this in today's news is interesting

The Harper government has served notice that thousands of same-sex couples who flocked to Canada from abroad since 2004 to get married are not legally wed.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/despite-legal-about-face-harper-has-no-intention-of-reopening-same-sex-marriage/article2299574/

 

[ddobro2]

Thanks for that article. Looks like a real legal headache.

And don't forget Mexico City....... but this in today's news is interesting

The Harper government has served notice that thousands of same-sex couples who flocked to Canada from abroad since 2004 to get married are not legally wed.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/despite-legal-about-face-harper-has-no-intention-of-reopening-same-sex-marriage/article2299574/

 

[mommo]

thanks to all who replied and inforemed me. gracias.

 

[ddobro2]

Keep us informed if you like about how it goes in Iceland with the wedding and the process with CIC. I can't imagine there's a lot of couples, let alone same-sex couples, trying to get married in Iceland, but you never know when sharing your experience could help someone who's reading.

thanks to all who replied and inforemed me. gracias.

 

[sidkrose]

Hey guys, I found this in the OP2 manual, section 5.40:


"Same-sex marriages performed outside Canada are not recognized for immigration purposes.
However, a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident who married their same-sex partner outside
Canada may qualify to sponsor their partner as a common-law or a conjugal partner"

Is this still accurate info?

 

[ddobro2]

Yeah, that's a real difference between the information on same-sex spousal category sponsorships listed on the CIC website (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-who.asp) and in the Overseas Processing manual. I would venture to say that since the OP2 manual is dated 2006 and the page I linked to was updated in November of last year, that it may NOT be true that OP would need to apply under the common-law or conjugal spousal category in order to be sponsored by his Canadian PR or citizen sponsor if they both have the marriage performed in Iceland, which recognizes gay marriage. I *believe* (but please don't take my word for it), that even if this were not the case, he would get some kind of correspondence from Mississauga about whether he can go forward with a spousal case or whether it will be considered common-law, if they've lived together for at least 1 year, or conjugal, if they can prove they were in a relationship for at least 1 year but had exceptional circumstances that prevented them from living together for 1 year.

Hey guys, I found this in the OP2 manual, section 5.40:


"Same-sex marriages performed outside Canada are not recognized for immigration purposes.
However, a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident who married their same-sex partner outside
Canada may qualify to sponsor their partner as a common-law or a conjugal partner"

Is this still accurate info?